Once, he was worried about life after football. His father, a banker, died six months after he retired. His idol, Bear Bryant, died a month after coaching his last game at Alabama.

But Bowden, who left FSU in 2009 -- and not by his own design -- looks fit and healthy and leaner than he did during his last years as a coach.

And of course, he remains as folksy, gregarious and accommodating as always. He even signed the bill of a University of Florida baseball cap on Friday.

He speaks across the country these days, raising money for charities. On Wednesday he was in Orlando. On Thursday, Omaha. And Friday? Friday brought him to the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium to speak at a fundraiser for the Sarasota Medical Pregnancy Center.

"They fixed me up where I could take a nap today," Bowden said.

If you want to keep up with his schedule, you can always follow him on Twitter ...

Wait. Bobby Bowden? Twitter?

"My publicist does that," Bowden said. "I don't even know how to work it."

After his controversial retirement/firing from FSU after the 2009 season, Bowden made a conscious effort to stay away from Doak Campbell Stadium and the football program in deference to new coach Jimbo Fisher.

Bowden did not want to get in the way, mindful of the immense shadow he cast.

Though he continues to live in Tallahassee, he finally returned to the stadium on Oct. 26 and was honored at a game.

A national title

Prior to kickoff, the crowd went bonkers when he walked out to midfield and planted the famous flaming spear in the ground, one of the great college football traditions.

"I didn't care about throwing that dadgum spear," Bowden said. "I was afraid it wouldn't stick up. You know, like a javelin. Ever throw one of those things and it doesn't stick up?"

The FSU band actually spelled out "Dadgum'' at halftime, a favorite saying of Bowden's.

Bowden will be back at Doak Campbell next weekend as the school honors the 20th anniversary of the 1993 national championship team.

It was the first of two championships Bowden won in his 43 seasons, and it lifted him into the coaching stratosphere.

But Bowden said Friday he would have been fine had he never won a national title at all.

"Oh yeah, sure," he said, "there were a lot of great coaches who didn't win one. But they won a lot of ballgames and conference championships and were very successful.

"No, I refuse to let football be my guide," he said. "That's my way of making a living and paying for my family's needs. I enjoyed it, loved it, wanted to win, but if it hadn't happened I wouldn't have cut my wrist."

In the 10th week of the 1993 season, top-ranked FSU lost to second-ranked Notre Dame, but the Irish were shocked the next week by Boston College.

That thrust FSU back into the national title game against top-ranked Nebraska and sophomore quarterback Tommie Frazier, a Manatee High grad.

FSU knocked off Nebraska, 18-16, in the Orange Bowl to win the title. Local players Todd Rebol (Charlotte High) and Patrick McNeil (Manatee High) were members of FSU's team.